DEDHAM – Principal Juliette Miller investigated the relationship between former Stoughton High School teacher Timothy Norton and a student in the fall of 2015, according to that student’s lawsuit against the town and school.

That investigation would have taken place two years before Norton, an engineering teacher and softball coach, resigned in October.

The lawsuit, filed in Norfolk County Superior Court last Wednesday, alleges Miller questioned the student (identified only as “Jane Doe”), then 17 years old, without notifying a parent or guardian.

Miller then interviewed Norton, according to the complaint, where she “apologized to Norton for having to ask him questions” about the teacher-student relationship.

Miller did not respond to phone calls from the Enterprise Tuesday.

No discipline came from that 2015 investigation, and the relationship between Norton and the student continued until September 2017, according to the complaint.

Last week’s lawsuit identifies the town of Stoughton, superintendent Marguerite Rizzi and Miller, Stoughton High School’s principal since March 2012, as defendants.

The former student, represented by attorney Richard Rafferty, says Miller neglected her duties as a “mandatory reporter,” a legal term in Massachusetts referring to professionals like teachers who are likely to be aware of abuse.

“People in certain professions, such as teachers, doctors, and social workers, must report child abuse when they know or suspect it,” according to the state’s website.

Norton regularly provided the student with passes and written requests allowing her to leave other classes to spend time in his room, according to the complaint.

It is unclear whether Rizzi, who was also named as a defendant, was aware of Miller’s 2015 investigation.

In a press release on Oct. 18 announcing Norton’s resignation, Rizzi said he was placed on administrative leave “hours after a report was made.”

Superior Court Judge Brian Davis approved the motion for the student, who has since graduated from Stoughton High School, to be identified by a pseudonym (“Jane Doe”) on Oct. 16.

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